When you are on a rollercoaster you probably don’t think about what is being created as you go up, down, and around the track. When it starts, there is the least amount of gravitational potential energy because the height at that point on the rollercoaster is the shortest, and there is no kinetic energy because the rollercoaster is not moving yet. The amount of gravitational potential energy is the most at point 1, right before you go down the highest drop in the rollercoaster, because you are at the maximum height, which is the greatest GPE. At point 2, you are at the bottom of the coaster, which is where there is the least amount of GPE because you are at the lowest height possible. As you come around to point 4, the rollercoaster is at the top of the loop. When you’re at that point, the amount of GPE is increasing because it is at a larger height than point 2, but not as much as it was at point 1, where there was the greatest GPE. Although there is gravitational potential energy, there is also kinetic energy. At point 1, the amount of KE is the least because it is going at the slowest speed. When you come around to point 2, the amount of kinetic energy is the most because it is moving at the fastest speed. Point 4 has decreasing KE because the speed of the rollercoaster is also decreasing because it is not as large as it was at point 2. The next time you ride on a rollercoaster, you will probably think about understand how the kinetic energy increases as you keep going faster and gravitational potential energy increases as you climb to the very top of the highest points of the rollercoaster.
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